This recipe was adapted from The Best Broccoli of Your Life from the Amateur Gourmet. It’s become my family’s favorite way to eat broccoli.
My 3-year old rarely tries newly prepared vegetables but lately, I’ve noticed a change in her. When I first offered her the broccoli she said no. I happily ate them but then asked her, one last time, if she wanted to eat one before I finished them off. She said yes and had four pieces!! I could tell she was very proud of herself. I guess creating “scarcity” (or chowing down in front of her) worked. Because my daughter seems more receptive to new foods earlier in the day, I’m going to keep trying veggies with her during the afternoon snack when we are usually home.
I like that these are crispy and sweet– a nice twist on broccoli. Adding parmesan and lemon when it’s done makes it amazing!
- 1 12-oz package raw broccoli or large head of broccoli, separated into florets
- 2½ Tbsp. oil, divided
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ tsp. salt and pepper
- 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
- ½ lemon, juiced
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the broccoli with 2 Tbsp. oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for 20–25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place in a bowl. Add Parmesan cheese, lemon and remaining ½ Tbsp. oil.
For more easy recipes and tips on how to serve meals to kids, check out Maryann’s book The Family Dinner Solution: How to Create a Rotation of Dinner Meals Your Family Will Love
I was actually thinking of making some type of broccoli dish tonight, this sounds yummy! I am tired of just steaming it and maybe the kids will be more receptive to this one, too. Neither are big fans at the moment but as we know that can change overnight!
I make this broccoli and garlic is definitely the way to go! My girls call them trees! I get the broccoli with the long stems and clean, then cut them so they look like trees.
Your broccoli post reminded me. My favorite way to cook vegetables is to roast them with just basic olive oil, salt and pepper. Of course you can add anything. My boy is only 16 months old and a great eater so I’m hardly an expert on how to get kids to eat, but I have a friend who has the palette of a child and every vegetable I have made for her this way she loves. She swore she didn’t like asparagus, I roasted it, she loved it. She said she didn’t like butternut squash or mushrooms. I roasted them with some onion and again, she loved it. Simple and easy. But I never thought about doing it with broccoli .Thanks for sharing.
I tried this last night and loved it! I really liked the flavor that the lemon added! I’d gotten so bored with the usual steamed broccoli, so this was a welcome change – yum!! I think it might try this with sliced brussel sprouts too!
Finally tried this tonight to RAVE reviews all around. My 21-month-old, who literally spit out his steamed broccoli just last night, devoured a bunch of this. He kept saying “ma-mo!” (which means “one more” in his toddler language) and ate it until it was gone. I had to make a second batch! I really like how crunchy it comes out. But next time I will use my olive oil spritzer instead of drizzling it on, as I think I ended up using too much. Thanks for the recipe!
Glad to hear!! I got more roasted veggie recipes coming…